Making up the majority of the great whales, baleen whales are some of the biggest animals to have ever lived. Feeding on tiny plankton and krill, baleen whales use their hair-like baleen to strain their food out of the water column.
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Trend in density from 2004–2013, based on sightings from CalCOFI cruises, for the six most frequently sighted species of cetaceans off southern California. Blue and humpback whales, short-beaked common dolphins, and Dall’s porpoises appear to be stable. Fin whale sightings have decreased while Pacific white-sided dolphin sightings have increased. Figure: Campbell et al. 2015